Repository:
University of California, Santa Cruz. University Library.
Special Collections and Archives

Santa Cruz, California 95064

Abstract: This series includes samples of backstage passes, tickets and laminates from Grateful Dead concert venues. Uniquely designed
laminate badges, fabric passes and mail order tickets, as well as mass produced tickets from ticketing outlets are included.
Not all venues are represented.

Physical location: Stored in Special Collections and Archives: Advance notice is required for access to the material.

Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English

Access

This series is open for research. Please contact the Grateful Dead Archivist at: grateful@ucsc.edu for further information.

Publication Rights

Property rights to the physical objects reside with the University of California. To inquire about the copyright of material
in this series, please contact the Grateful Dead Archivist at: grateful@ucsc.edu

The first accural was received in 2008. Second accural was received in June 2012. Additional accurals are expected.

Processing Information

The series was processed using MPLP which means materials were refoldered, rehoused and very minimally processed.

History

The Grateful Dead were an American rock band that formed in 1965 in
Northern California. They came to fame as part of author Ken Kesey's
Acid Tests, a series of multimedia happenings centered around
then-legal LSD. Famed for their concerts, the band performed more than
2,300 shows over thirty years, disbanding after the death of lead
guitarist Jerry Garcia in August 1995. Although their only Top 10 hit,
"Touch of Grey," charted in 1987, their popularity was based on
concerts, and in their last decade they consistently placed in the top
five tours every year. Known for the range of their repertoire and the
caliber of their compositions, the Dead's songbook has been covered by
a wide range of other musicians, from Bob Dylan to Jane's Addiction.
They released thirteen studio albums and nine contemporary live albums
during their career, and more than 100 live releases since then. They
were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Scope and Content of Collection

This series contains back stage passes, tickets and laminates to Grateful Dead concerts and other concert venues.

Backstage passes are usually printed fabric stickers about the size of a playing card that allowed access to a restricted
area of a venue, where journalists and guests would be entertained during a performance. Designed to be used in conjunction
with a ticket, backstage passes could be simple abstract designs or images derived from mass media, popular culture, or even
band members' children's doodles. Unlike laminates, which tended to feature artwork commissioned specifically for that purpose,
backstage passes tended to be simpler and more casual, often more whimsical, and generally disposable. Over time, the standard
rectangular shape was augmented with passes featuring a wide variety of sizes and shapes, from circles to triangles.

Grateful Dead tickets can be grouped into several categories, roughly corresponding to era. In the 1960s, rock promoter Bill
Graham quickly recognized the utility of reproducing concert poster images in business card sized tickets in an effort to
impede counterfeits, usually stamped along the bottom or back with the day of the show. These tickets are the most highly
prized, collected along with handbills and posters for the concerts. In the 1980s, the band pioneered the direct sale of tickets
to fans via mail order, creating tickets that often featured graphics incorporating band logos and motifs. Tickets for special
events such as New Year's Eve were often works of art in their own right. By contrast, tickets printed at outlets such as
BASS (Bay Area Seating Service) and Ticketmaster were created with a strictly information-only template using a thermal ink
printing process that did not hold up well over time, with the lettering often fading quickly.

Laminates are small, playing card-sized badges made of either printed cardboard sealed in plastic or printed plastic, usually
designating an entire tour but sometimes only a single show or run of shows at a single venue. Worn on a lanyard or clipped
to outer clothing, laminates serve as identification for band, band family, crew, or touring staff, providing access to secure
areas, including backstage and performer areas. Over time, increasingly sophisticated designs intended to thwart counterfeit
efforts (nicknamed "scaminates" by enterprising fans) supplanted the simple identification badge style common in the 1970s,
giving rise to beautifully artistic efforts such as those by Timothy Truman, featured in the book
Access All Areas: Backstage with the Grateful Dead (Grateful Dead Books, 1998). The interplay between art and security produced striking designs that incorporated cutting-edge
production techniques that made successful unauthorized duplication all but impossible. Laminates obviated the need for a
ticket, unlike a backstage pass.

Arrangement

The material is arranged in three sub-series: Back Stage Passes; Tickets; Laminates. The material is arranged chronologically
by venue within each section.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.